The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to medical imaging systems, and more particularly subject shape estimation for imaging operations.
Medical imaging systems are used to assist with diagnosis of medical ailments in patients. Such systems include Nuclear Medicine (NM) imaging systems which can be Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging systems or Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging systems. A goal of these systems is to provide high quality images of a subject to an operator, while keeping exposure to any radioactivity, otherwise known as dose, to a minimum.
One way to achieve a higher quality image is to position image detector units close to a subject of the image scan. To do so safely and without contact with the subject requires determining a surface profile of a subject under inspection that is positioned at a distance from image detector units. Previously, this subject shape, or surface profile, estimation may have been done with a Computed Tomography (CT) apparatus included in the medical imaging system. But a CT apparatus adds expense to the purchaser of the medical imaging system and could add unnecessary dose to the subject of the scan. Thus, what is needed is a non-contact and non-CT system of estimating subject shape for improved medical imaging operations.